A Shadow's Fervor
by schiZochic
Summary: His training with Jiraiya in pursuit of greater power is disrupted. Naruto returns to Konoha to fulfill his lifelong dream and promise but apparently he himself becomes a threat. How is he going to accomplish all of this now?


**Full Summary:** His training with Jiraiya in pursuit of greater power and improvement is disrupted. Naruto finally returns to Konoha to fulfill his lifelong utmost dream and promise to save his closest friend from darkness. However, this "greater power" seems to have a price and apparently he himself becomes a threat. How is he going to accomplish all of this now? and more importantly how is he supposed to become the greatest hokage now?

A/N: story starts after the time jump and contains SPOILERS from there.

Disclaimer: Kishimoto-sensei is the only rightful owner of Naruto.

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**A Shadow's Fervor**

Prologue

"_Why is there something rather than nothing?" _

–_ancient philosophers_

It was past midnight already and stubborn Naruto was still wide awake.

Today has been the longest day and possibly longest night as well. It was not due to exhaustion though, it just seems as though time has suddenly slowed down in effort of teasing him. That is how it has been always. When one is bored and excited, time really slowly passes by but when one is enjoying the moment, time flies.

Because of this he can't help getting impatient already. He looked up with his cerulean orbs and noticed the bright orange full moon that hovers across the dark sky. The silent night was disturbed as the insomniac continued his counting.

"one thousand five hundred sixty-three"

"one thousand five hundred sixty-four"

"one thousand five hundred sixty-five"

"one thousand five hundred sixty-six"

"one thousand five hundred sixty-six"

"Wrong! You are so stupid aren't you?" the frog spouted as it landed softly.

Gamakichi had nothing better to do so he was quite pleased to find himself being summoned. When he asked why he was being called, Naruto merely grinned and explained that he was bored and couldn't sleep. Gamakichi smirked, he thought the boy made a mistake again and was instead hoping for Gamabunta, his grumpy father. But being the playful frog that Gamakichi was although he wouldn't dare admit giving more time to playing rather than training, he didn't complain, after all, the boy said he was indeed expecting for him.

A little while later, he watched as Naruto bit his thumb again and summoned yet another of his kin. As the fog cleared out, revealing a small yellow frog with orange markings around his face. As usual his little brother had a dazed look on his eyes. It took three seconds to get him out of his stupor. He looked up to his summoner and waved his hand requesting for snacks. Gamakichi shook his head in disapproval of his brother's action. It was only then that Gamatatsu realized that his brother's presence and greeted him.

Naruto asked Gamakichi and Gamatatsu to jump around and as he counts hoping that this will get him sleeping. The chubby yellow frog wasn't that hard to deal with when handed a box of chocolate oatmeal cookies. However, Gamakichi was not that willing so Naruto explained that they could use this to test their stamina. The frog studied him for a while, Gamakichi is aware of the trickery but the fact that this 'boy' was the one doing it, he didn't bother refusing. Naruto laughed at his ingenuity yet he failed to see the irony of that situation. He himself was tricked numerous times by the 'ero-sennin' with that same excuse.

And because of that the poor frogs were stuck skipping as Naruto continues his counting. He looked down at the red squirt, "Shut up. Now where was I? oh yeah, 1568.. "

"you're hopeless." the miniature crimson frog decided he has had enough and refused to hop anymore and turned around instead.

"what was that! … tsch.. I lost my counting again.. damn frogs!" he exclaimed slapping his forehead lightly in exasperation. The frustration was not vented for the amphibians though. It was because after everything he tried, there was not even a hint of sleepiness creeping to him.

"ha, don't put the blame on us." Gamakichi, replied as he made a leap on to the pool of soft blond strands and shifted to a more comfortable position to rest.

"nii-saan… you're so unfair I was supposed to go there!" Gamatatsu complained and settled on the lean shoulders of a certain fellow.

Naruto gave out a sigh. "darn… its hopeless… hmm maybe I should go check my things and see if I have missed anything in my checkli--

"--that's practically pointless as you have done that for the umpteenth time already! The result would be the same. You didn't miss anything from that 'special' checklist of yours."

Naruto grinned. "Yeah I supposed you are right." After a while he sighed again, lately he realized he has been doing that quite frequently. "Darn it's useless; I think I won't be able to sleep at all!"

The blond failed to acknowledge the fact that it is not as though he can't sleep, rather it was more of he does not WANT to. No one can blame him though, one can't help but be excited when he found out that he is finally returning to Konoha.

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"We're going back."

He stared dumbly as some of the noodles he has been chewing fell onto his plate again. Jiraiya looked at his flabbergasted student impassively and sat down in front of him.

"Really?" Naruto managed to blurt out after devouring the food rather quickly in his mouth. Jiraiya arched an eyebrow challenging the kid's doubt of his words.

Jiraiya was a little bit surprised for he knew the Naruto he knows, would've jumped at him for this announcement but all he got was silence as a response.

'Well, he has changed.' Jiraiya smiled to himself when all of a sudden he felt a hot liquid splashed on him.

"YESSSSSS!" Naruto leaped in delight at his sensei's revelation. His precious ramen toppled as a result and was left ignored. Jiraiya jumped as well to avoid further damage from the devious liquid threatening to tarnish his robe.

Naruto was stopped momentarily from his rejoicing with a thump on his head. "Ouch!"

"Look what you've done! Darn I have a date tonight and you totally ruined my outfit! Ungrateful brat!" Jiraiya shrieked at his foolish overly enthusiastic apprentice.

"Oops, sorry!" Naruto suppressed a giggle at the sight before him. He grinned sheepishly when Jiraiya gave him a sharp look.

"So, when are we gonna leave?" Naruto asked recovering from his outburst earlier on.

"Tonight. After my date. Why don't you go enjoy yourself while you wait for me, tonight is the last day of the festival after all. Plus, it's your last day for souvenirs right?" Jiraiya explained as he wiped off the stain. He can't afford to have Naruto around during his date so it is for the best that the kid finds something to keep himself preoccupied.

When he looked up, all he saw was an orange blur with clouds of dust leaving a trail heading towards the direction of the village. The frog hermit chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. "kawaii gaki ja no." He followed Naruto as he prepares for his awaited date.

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Naruto finished his souvenir hunting in about a couple of hours. His stomach gave out a low growl signaling it was already dinner time. He then made his way to dine in at the nearest restaurant he finds. A lot of people crowded the place but he did not need to be surprise. It was the last day of the festival after all. He followed the elderly woman as she led him to his seat and gave the menu.

Naruto simply picked the first delicious looking meal in the menu and handed it to the old lady and off she went for his order. While waiting, he rummaged to his bag of souvenirs and smiled in satisfaction that he chose the right ones. With all these people around his food would take quite a while much to his displeasure. With nothing much to do to distract him from his starvation he found himself staring absentmindedly into particularly nothing.

Ero-sennin found his way into Naruto's thoughts; He wondered how the old man's date was going. But that was not necessary for at the back of his mind he already knows how things will end up. The incident that happened earlier that afternoon gave him a chuckle as he recalled it and when he found out they were finally going back; it surely uplifted the boy's mood to a hundredfold. Not that he didn't enjoy the company of his master, he simply missed his home. It has been 2 ½ years since he left and it has been the longest period he was away from his village. But they were ahead of their schedule by practically 6 months since it was supposed to be 3-year training.

A frown escaped his features as he suspects that it has something to do with what that man reported to ero-sennin yesterday. Although he was not there to verify his suspicions he is rather convinced about the reason of this abrupt end to their trip. There could only be one reason and that is Akatsuki who has started their move again. A shiver had crawled up his spine as he remembers his first encounter with the enigmatic group of ninjas. His only encounter deals with only two so far and there were 9 of them according to Jiraiya. The shark-like man, Kisame as he vaguely remembered and of course, his greatest schock, Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's elder brother, the man he desperately seeks to kill.

He remembers it quite well, the feeling he got when he met those cold pair of Sharingan eyes. He actually thought it was Sasuke but then again, how did 'Sasuke' get this tall all of a sudden? He felt his body tremble under those piercing gaze. When that man asked that Naruto goes with them, he found his body easily complying with their request. The terrifying aura has trapped him in a stupor he can't get himself out of. When the tall one asked if he could cut the limbs, his eyes widen in shock. Had he been in his usual self at that time, he would've shouted insults and mockery at the awful joke of the man. But his usual self was not there at the moment.

Much to his surprise the when the shark man was about to pull his 'prank' on him the shorter Sasuke look-alike muttered something like, "It has been a long time… Sasuke". Naruto darted his gaze to find himself staring at the real Sasuke. And if it were possible, he got a bigger surprise when he found out this Sasuke look-alike was none other than his Sasuke's brother, the man he wants to kill. However this was not the end of the surprises, he gawked in disbelief as Itachi, as Sasuke called him, avoided and stopped Sasuke's most powerful attack, The Chidori rather easily. Sasuke fell down after receiving an awfully strong punch in the gut.

Seeing his friend getting beaten up was more than enough to shake Naruto out of his trance. He was so infuriated he was able to call upon the Kyuubi's power quite easily. This got the attention of the two cloaked men as they watched in amusement much to his annoyance as he molded the chakra needed for his jutsu. He decided that he would call upon Gamabunta to take care of these chumps but he was interrupted in the middle of his hand seals. The chakra he was molding a while ago dissipated suddenly! He heard the man commenting how slow he was but that is not the point. 'How the hell did it get dispelled so easily!' Naruto panicked.

"My sword Samehada shaves and … devours chakra." The tall man answered figuring out the question he had in his mind.

With his chakra getting depleted like that, Naruto felt helpless as the sword was shoved down to his direction. Surprisingly it didn't hurt. When he looked up there was a frog clothed in armor that blocked the attack! And then he heard it, ero-sennin started his self-proclaimed gratification speech. To the blond it merely contained excuses after getting tricked so easily but what is more important is that he is now saved! But despite having the frog tamer at that time, the ominous pair managed to escape barely having any scratch. When he asked why those thugs were after him, he was shocked that it was not him they were after; rather, it was the thing inside him. Until now, it remains a mystery as to why they seek out this monster inside him.

Naruto is confused and finds it hard to believe that they are after Kyuubi. What do they want from this.. this nine-tailed monster? It is the mystical monster feared as the strongest of demons. A swing of one of its tail can cause tsunami and earthquakes. This demon attacked Konoha 15 years ago and it took the life of the Yondaime Hokage so that the village can avoid complete destruction. This demon according to ero-sennin has appeared periodically in history. It wreaked havoc to wherever it appeared and people have treated its arrival as natural disaster; devastation was inevitable.

But more importantly this was the cause of his misery. It was the reason for those glares, animosities and spiteful shunning of the villagers. Konoha hated him for this demon, so why do they seek to get their hands on this demon? Ero-sennin thinks that they are after its power since the Kyuubi is famous for its unlimited supply of chakra. After all Naruto himself enjoys quite a number of benefits from his tenant although he despises this, he can't help but be grateful for it. He did suffer being the vessel so it is perfectly fine that the Kyuubi uses its chakra as retainer or so he thinks.

Akatsuki was one of the many reasons that provoked him to pursue training so that he can improve and get stronger at any cost. Despite whatever reason this organization may have, he automatically found himself refusing to give his furry resident up without putting up much fight. During unpleasant days however, he finds himself consumed in much darker thoughts. He finds himself wondering what would happen if the Akatsuki gets their hands on this demon, more precisely what would happen if he gets rid of it. This demon is the cause of his sufferings right? If the source is gone, would his pain be gone as well? Would the villagers see him differently when that happens? But Naruto usually stops at that point before his train of thought gets worse. The fact that they don't know the reason of this mysterious group of shinobi which is composed of basically the most wanted ninjas all over the world makes his decision to be the most logical option for now.

Also, being a ninja of Konoha, he wouldn't dare impose any sort of risks to his own village despite their harsh treatment. His village harbors his group of important persons after all and he would do anything to protect them. This is one of the important duties of being a Hokage, his greatest ambition in life. From a grim mood, it shifted to a positive one as he remembers this dream of his. Now that he is going back to Konoha, his dream to surpass and become the greatest ninja of his village is once again realized. It is more important now than ever that he work twice, no thrice as hard as he did before. His thoughts manifested as he clasped onto his precious forehead protector. The aroma of his incoming dinner distracted him from his thoughts. 'too much thinking.. made me hungrier.. time to eat!'

"Itadakimasu"

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It has been 10 days since he found out about their return. And ero-sennin explained that tomorrow morning or early afternoon they'd find themselves right in front of the infamous gates of Konoha. It is the very reason that he finds himself very much awake up to this hour.

"I'll go train!" Naruto decided.

Gamatatsu was the first one to complain and for that he received a fair amount of scolding from his hypocritical elder brother.

Naruto sweatdropped at the sight in front of him. "Mah.. hehe.. you won't have to do much tatsu, c'mon!" Naruto lifted the brothers as he set out to go to a newfound training paradise he discovered yesterday. It would be the last time for training as well.

After a few minutes they found himself inside the forest. Naruto stopped arriving at the spot. The forest was rather creepy especially during this time of the night. Croaking and gentle noisy breeze greeted their arrival. Gamakichi found Naruto awestruck by something, and as he followed his gaze, he was awed as well. In front of them was a beautiful lake glimmering under the moonlight. The orange moon gave out a suiting brightness it perfectly blended with the dark azure lake. Naruto smelled the fragrance of nature. In an instant the frogs turned around to find 3 more Narutos behind them.

The real Naruto walked on to the middle of the lake together with his frog friends. He called out to his bunshins, "Gather some leaves will ya?. I'll be right there in a moment." Naruto placed the two frogs,

"What are you planning?" Gamakichi was curious.

Naruto grinned, "You two stay here if you don't want to get hurt alright?"

Gamatatsu rather enjoyed soaking in the cool soothing water. The peaceful lake was disturbed and ripples after ripples were formed as Gamatatsu played and entertained himself. Gamakichi on the other hand, watched Naruto's training take place in amusement.

When the clones were done gathering the leaves, they surrounded Naruto settling for 4-meter distance. Naruto reached for his shuriken holster; he took a fair amount of shuriken and readied himself. The clones glanced at one another waiting for the right moment. The one in the middle gave a nod and the training commenced. The clones threw the leaves they gathered simultaneously at Naruto as he released his shurikens aiming for each and every leaf thrown at him.

As he jumped in mid air to avoid the leaves and gather some momentum, he did another Kage Bunshin, unveiling two clones, one pulled him up to keep his suspension as he throws his shuriken. The other kept creating a clone at a time to pull Naruto up to decrease the speed of his descent, and sustain his illusionary levitation. Naruto repeated this routine 5 more times until he successfully got all leaves thrown at him. Gamakichi was fairly impressed at how the boy utilized Kage Bunshin for this routine. He was rather quick in using his technique and how he used his clones to keep him standing in mid-air.

That instantaneous training was enough to break some sweat. Naruto fell down breathing lightly. He dispelled his jutsu and smirked at his achievement seeing he managed to hit each and every one of the leaves as it flew straight on the trunks of the trees surrounding them. But he was fairly satisfied with the result. This wasn't a serious training anyway but he suddenly despised himself for his little excuse for his failure. He brushed the negative thoughts away and slumped down, lying on his back. The shady sky was very beautiful indeed that night as if greeting his much awaited return. Numerous stars were scattered and it made him remember the people he encountered when he started his path as a shinobi of the leaf.

He wondered how Iruka-sensei was doing. He was his first important person. His first ever acknowledgement came from him. Being an orphan himself, Iruka-sensei was able to empathize with the boy. He didn't have any grudges towards the Naruto despite losing both his parents when the kitsune attacked their village. He understood the loneliness Naruto must have felt so he was able to reach out to him. This first step was what saved him from that.. hell. After getting just one person to acknowledge him and most importantly his existence, life just got better.

His precious person tally increased afterwards. As he wondered how each and everyone was doing, including Tsunade no Baa-chan, Shizune, Konohamaru, fellow genins, of course Kakashi-sensei and Sakura and Sasuke. As he reminisces about Team 7, gloominess overcame him. The pain once again resurfaced. He never imagined the pain, anguish of losing someone precious to you but he never imagined he'd be experiencing the sickening feeling of betrayal. Sorrowful memories flooded his thoughts. Nothing could have prepared him for this. If only he knew about this pain of losing an important person, would he really have wished for one?

He clenched his fist. He must get over this. He must fulfill his promise with Sakura no matter what. He can not and he will not give up on Sasuke just yet. He'll never forgive himself if he did. The fact that Sasuke did not kill him that time, it is enough to convince him that there is some hope left in Sasuke, how slim that may be, he is convinced; Sasuke is not yet beyond hope. Neji believed in me, I can save Sasuke from this darkness and this time Sakura will be there to help just as she promised. He must save his friend if he wishes to be a Hokage. Naruto straightened up. His smile was optimistic and full of daring determination.

He didn't train for nothing. He trained his butt off to get stronger and to further improve himself. He trained to obtain the greater power he will need to save his friend from the snake-bastard, protect his precious persons, face the Akatsuki and most importantly, become the greatest Hokage ever. Things are about to get exciting.

"Let's go." Naruto decided.

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"Orochimaru-sama."

"Yes, I know Kabuto. I am well aware that they have started their move. But there is no need to be troubled." The snake-sannin claimed.

"Of course." Kabuto said in agreement.

"My time is almost up with this body. Fufufufu.. earlier than I expected though." Orochimaru mused.

"That can't be helped."

"This merely implies I'm getting much closer now to my ambition."

"So is Sasuke-kun."

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"Shizuka and Ryu have arrived with the three-tailed Jinchuriki."

"Good work both of you. Has Sasori arrived yet?"

"Not yet. We received the confirmation that he is most certainly on his way."

"Then let us wait for him. Only then shall begin with the extraction."

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Naruto arrived at their meeting place to find a rather annoyed-looking Jiraiya.

"Where have you been! I told you to stay here." Jiraiya complained leaning on the wall with his arms folded across his chest.

"Ahh.. well I couldn't sleep and I got tired of waiting so I decided to do some light training." Naruto explained as he placed his hands on the back of his head looking away slightly embarrassed at his tardiness.

Jiraiya motioned the door, "Never mind, the ship has arrived. Gather your things already. We're going."

"Sure!"

Naruto came back within 5 seconds and the frogs seemed to have disappeared. He had his backpack, another bag hanging from his left shoulder and lastly a rather large bag slumped on his right shoulder. Jiraiya's eyebrows were drawn up in curiosity.

"What are those?" he questioned.

"Souvenirs." Naruto answered in an as-a-matter-of-fact way.

"How about the that?" Jiraiya continued, pointing at other suspicious bag.

Naruto snickered and gave out a foxy grin. "… Himitsu". (secret)

Jiraiya twitched in annoyance.

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A/N:

The manga is taking forever so I needed to distract myself with something, and school's not helping so I came up with this. Naruto has been keeping me entertained lately and has inspired me enough to write this story.

The prologue foreshadows conflicts and issues Naruto is about to face. Yeah pretty much the same conflict in the manga I know, but the conflict in the manga is so intriguing I decided to keep it and start my story from there. Besides there is so many things left in the manga for me to explore anyway with the current plot about Orochimaru and Akatsuki right now. With those canon villains I figured I could play with those as I slowly try to put my story in place.

For reading my work you already have my gratitude! Feel free to review this work of mine. It might inspire me to work harder and of course it would help me a great deal to improve my writing style!

Thanks again. God Bless!


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